4yo BP. went off food after medication

[rawrimamidget]

Rupert will be 4 soon, and a couple months ago I heard him 'sneeze' so I took him to the vet. Vet said he appeared healthy in every way, but she trusted me in knowing something was wrong. She gave me two different oral meds for him, and after taking them for 3 weeks, no more 'sneezing'.

He's always been a shy (and fussy) eater, but after the medication he stopped eating entirely.

It's been two months now, and while he doesn't look like he's lost much weight, and the sneezing hasn't returned, i'm concerned.
The inside of his mouth looks darker than usual and his shed this week was awful.

Calling the clinic in the morning, but this vet also didn't seem to know BPs could go off food at all, last time I was there. (I mentioned he was fussy, but not abnormally so for a BP) Anyone here got advice?


(other history: he's thrown up once, but otherwise has been fine. He was given to me about 2 years ago while I worked at a petstore- someone came in and didn't want him anymore. ): so I took him home)

[bcr229]

How long ago was the regurgitation?

Also it's not unusual for stressed BP's to go off food and medicating them definitely causes stress.

Two months also isn't a long time to fast. Last August a female I produced went off food, seemingly for no reason, nothing in her husbandry changed. She finally started eating again a few weeks ago, so that's an eight month fast...

[Albert Clark]

Antibiotics are always hard on a reptiles' internal metabolism. Particularly the gastrointestinal tract and the kidneys. Some (antibiotics) are more prone to affect these systems than others. Usually it's beneficial to make sure the reptile is on L.B.A. (lactobacillus acidophilus) while on antibiotics to replace the "good" bacteria of the g.i. tract that get killed off by the medicine. Dehydration is also a consideration thus the kidneys. Fluids also need to be given. Overall inappetance is a side effect of antibiotic treatment. All of these play into the reptiles' condition.

[rawrimamidget]

How long ago was the regurgitation?

August 6th. It was a mostly digested mouse, and it was just after he'd had a massive poop. He went right back on food 2 weeks later, and had been mostly regular afterwards. Every now and then he'd refuse food for a week, but never for really long. Like I said, he's a bit fussy.

Antibiotics are always hard on a reptiles' internal metabolism. Particularly the gastrointestinal tract and the kidneys. Some (antibiotics) are more prone to affect these systems than others. Usually it's beneficial to make sure the reptile is on L.B.A. (lactobacillus acidophilus) while on antibiotics to replace the "good" bacteria of the g.i. tract that get killed off by the medicine. Dehydration is also a consideration thus the kidneys. Fluids also need to be given. Overall inappetance is a side effect of antibiotic treatment. All of these play into the reptiles' condition.

I'd planned on giving him a bath with shed ease to get his stuck shed off, that would help with hydration, but should I specifically ask my vet for that too? She doesn't have space to see me til Monday.

Thanks guys, this helped my worry a little less over his not eating. Now it's just the concern about his mouth. ):

[Albert Clark]

Quote:
I'd planned on giving him a bath with shed ease to get his stuck shed off, that would help with hydration, but should I specifically ask my vet for that too? She doesn't have space to see me til Monday.

Thanks guys, this helped my worry a little less over his not eating. Now it's just the concern about his mouth. ):

@ rawrim :
Yes, that will help with hydration but I would skip the shed ease. Plain water is sufficient. What type of enclosure are you working with and what are the husbandry numbers that you have? Raising your ambient temperature and humidity percentage can help twofold. This is predicated on how you are maintaining the enclosure.

[rawrimamidget]

@ rawrim :
Yes, that will help with hydration but I would skip the shed ease. Plain water is sufficient. What type of enclosure are you working with and what are the husbandry numbers that you have? Raising your ambient temperature and humidity percentage can help twofold. This is predicated on how you are maintaining the enclosure.[/COLOR]

Still at work, so I snagged the numbers from the last time I posted- i'll double check once i'm home.

Setup:
40gal, hagen lock bar top- I keep an extra long pillow case over it to keep heat /humid in, and keep my cat and his hair from being annoying.
UTH on right side (90F on the pad, rest of the tank is 80-85 depending on time of day). I've got it on a thermostat.
One hide on each side of the tank. Log and Water bowl in the middle.
paper towel bottom
misting daily, Humiditiy is 60%.
Rupert is about 3 feet long, but beefing him up hasn't been easy (previous owner didn't feed often enough, or large enough).

[PitOnTheProwl]

Rupert will be 4 soon, and a couple months ago I heard him 'sneeze' so I took him to the vet. Vet said he appeared healthy in every way, but she trusted me in knowing something was wrong. She gave me two different oral meds for him, and after taking them for 3 weeks, no more 'sneezing'.

So what are you treating for if there was no culture done and nothing found?
Could be off feed due to stress from in-need meds.
This is a vet that I would NEVER use just because they gave you meds without reason.